It all started very innocently. Vulture published a list ranking all of the songs recorded and released by the Beatles in ascending order, and while I’d never been a Beatle maniac, I was enough of a fan to be interested; it was fun to look back, particularly on the earlier Beatles music which I had all but forgotten. The list surprised me for all I was unfamiliar with, so I began to look songs up Read more…
Pondering the upcoming feast of the Epiphany, I found myself wondering about the message of the Magi, and imagining those last moments before King Herod signed a death warrant for countless Jewish infants stripped from their mother’s arms and put to the sword. It turned into one of those little fictions I write sometimes — once for First Things, then, at Easter, for Patheos. This time, it’s for Word on Fire. As Fr. Steve Grunow Read more…
Today’s feastday brings us to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, or “Mother Seton” as she is also known. Over at the site for her National Shrine, I argue that he is very much someone we moderns can turn to for spiritual companionship in 2019: How relatable is St. Elizabeth Ann to our lives and our times? Well, she’s a woman whose life pitched her from wealth to poverty, from a deliriously happy marriage to young widowhood. Read more…
Christmas being a feast day, people won’t have much room for dessert — hence the greatness of the Christmas cookie! — but if you are looking to make something a little different, this recipe suits the bill — a lovely light buttery cake with meringue and whipped cream, yum. Some people put strawberries in the middle and on top of it, but I think I have made my position on strawberries abundantly clear, and I like Read more…
If you still need a few gifts, I have some books to suggest, especially since I have been very remiss this year in reviewing and recommending titles. Sorry, it has been a strange and busy year. I never did get those podcasts going, as I’d planned, either. Books make such fantastic gifts (and they’re easy to gift wrap according to websites like Burning Book Press!) There really is a book for everyone and that’s why Read more…
My latest at Word on Fire: Recently a friend declared, “I need a break.” He and his wife could not be convinced to look beyond the institutional men and remain focused on Jesus. “Come for Jesus,” I invited them, “Come for Jesus and pray for the Church!” They politely demurred. I still believe they need Jesus, and the church certainly needs them. More than ever, donations (learn more) and general support are needed. They are Read more…
After the Vatican ordered US Bishops to refrain from voting on episcopal correctives to their failures on the sex abuse front (a February bishop’s gathering in Rome will now address it), American bishops left their bi-annual conference with little to show for their time beyond approving a the promotion of the excellent Sister Thea Bowman’s cause for sainthood. The do-little gathering left plenty of American Catholics feeling short-changed and fed-up, and precipitated Melinda Henneburger’s scorching Read more…
Almost every year I try to gather suggested Advent materials or reading selections to share with y’all. Last year, I skipped that in order to write out a daily-read series based on the lectionary, which was both a satisfying and sometimes overwhelming task. As a Christian, I actually loved taking the time each day to really engage and ponder Advent on deeper and very specific levels. As a writer, I came to realize that such Read more…
How are you voting today? I don’t mean to ask who anyone is voting for, or even why. I’m just wondering whether we are voting with an energy of hate, or an energy of love, or if we’re voting out of a hate that feels like love? Or are we casting our votes in fear? We know “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18) But how do we know whether we are heading to Read more…
Britain’s Channel 4 News put up a tweet that had the rare effect of taking social media furies out of themselves for a few minutes in admiration of one man’s wisdom and humility. Dr. Jeff Cohen, a member of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and a physician who oversaw the medical treatment of the man who senselessly killed 11 of its elders, had a lesson to teach the whole nation about Read more…